THE EVENING STAR
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *
For those of you who have been waiting for the sequel to that quintessential tearjerker and excellent movie TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983), it is finally finished. Called THE EVENING STAR, it is a disaster.
Shirley MacLaine is back as Aurora Greenway, but her humanity is gone and only her humorous side remains. The script is by the director Robert Harding, and all his jokes fall like stones. So what is good in the film?
In almost a cameo part at the end Jack Nicholson returns as astronaut Garrett Breedlove. His performance is fairly mechanical, but infinitely better than the rest of the film. The only other positive aspects of the picture worth mentioning are the classic tacky clothes that the costume designer created for Aurora. They consist of combinations of purples and pale blues accentuated with silly little frills. I have now exhaustively listed every good part of the film. Do not bother looking for any others. There are none.
Set in Houston in 1988, the show contains a cacophony of bad Texas accents, but the worst is Miranda Richardson's as Aunt Patsy. She has cliched lines including, "I'm just a poor little old Texas gal. Struck oil at the altar." We even get a tour of her Imelda Marcos sized walk-in closet.
Winning the award for the worse performance in the film is Bill Paxton as Aurora's therapist Jerry. Poor Bill looks as though he suffers from gas through most of the film. I hope he has gotten to feel better. There is a unbelievable romance between Jerry and Aurora. The romance is little more than a plot device inserted in a failed attempt to shock the audience. You see, Aurora is old enough to be Jerry's mother.
Usually interesting Juliette Lewis plays Aurora's granddaughter. I just knew she would be able to make something out of her badly written part, but she wasn't.
The show is full of bad taste masquerading as comedy. Patsy's doorbell plays "The Yellow Rose of Texas." Now, that is an original idea. When a sweet old character dies in the middle of the show, the director peppers the funeral with little sight gags. We can not even bury the dead properly in this show. Believe it or not, there is even a airplane food fight between Aurora and Patsy. Is the world ready for TERMS OF ENDEARMENT meets ANIMAL HOUSE?
Child actor Shawn Taylor Thompson plays Aurora's obnoxious great-grandson Bump. They cut away when he talks, and it sounds as if they are using an adult to talk like a funny toddler. Bad taste abounds in this picture.
The ending comes totally out of left field, but I guess I should not have been surprised. If it weren't for being a critic, I would have been spared the ending. There is no reason to stay if for some reason you find yourself watching this movie. Vote with your feet. And vote early. I wish I could have.
THE EVENING STAR runs way too long at about 2:10. It is rated PG-13. There are sexual situations, but no sex, nudity, or violence. The language is much worse than it needed to be and had several uses of the F word. The film would probably be okay for kids 10 and up, but why bother? I recommend you stay as far away from this film as possible. This being the Christmas season, I am going to be charitable and give it a single *. My brain told me to give it less.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: December 16, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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